On December 29, 2022 the Brazilian soccer legend, Pelé, died at the age of 82. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in September of 2021, and eventually died due to organ failure caused by the colon cancer. 

Pelé is considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time, and is the only player to have won three World Cups. He won the tournament in 1958, 1962, and 1970. At the time

of his death, he was tied with Neymar de Silva Santos Júnior as the top goal scorer for Brazil with 77 goals. Another reason why people think of Pelé as one of the best is because of his amazing goal to game ratio. He has scored 767 goals in his 831 career games, averaging 0.92 goals per game. 

“When I was a kid, soccer was just getting started in the USA, and even if you didn’t play soccer, you knew who Pelé was,” said Sam Greene, “He was a great ambassador for the game, and it is sad to see him go.”

Pelé was a sensational player for the whole world. He changed the game of soccer, and inspired so many people to start their soccer careers. According to Greene, Pelé was a household name during his height of fame. He was known by all of America and the world. He started his career at age 15 for the Brazilian club Santos FC. He is still their all time scorer, and has won many trophies with them. 

“He was one of my favorite players in the old fifa games, he was one of the older goats,” said sophomore Karson Drake.

Drake thinks that Pelé was one of the best players in his generation. Pelé did a lot of things that were unheard of in the 1960s. He was recognized by FIFA as one of the best this century when they named him the FIFA co-player of the century in 2000. The other winner was Diego Maradona, an Argentine soccer player who also won a World Cup. 

“Even though Pelé was one of the greatest soccer players of all time, he also did many things off the pitch to help the game,” said Drake, “he expanded the game far and wide.”

After he had to retire as a player, Pelé worked as the minister of sports for Brazil. Brazil named Pelé as an official national treasure, and he helped organize the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He has been a big part of the soccer world up until his death. 

“Pelé is one of the greatest and most influential people in the history of soccer,” said senior Matthew Holding.